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That brand new PC that you bought a while back inevitably slows down. This is caused by a number of things. Depending on how computer savvy you are, will depend on how many different things are slowing your PC down. Some people regularly delete files like temporary internet files and cookies by doing a Disk Cleanup on a regular basis. These same people typically do a regular disc defrag. This helps, but there’s much more needed!

Let’s talk about some other things that can be done to put some zip back into your aging and ailing PC.

Number 1 - Do a Fresh Install of Windows XP
I’m mentioning this option first, because if you decided you had enough know how to do this, then you can skip the next two options.

By doing a complete reinstall of Windows, I’m talking about completely reformatting your hard drive and installing Windows fresh. This means that you’ll have to reinstall all of your software, some hardware, and probably set up things like mail and internet service again. Not to mention you’ll need to go get all the recent security and critical updates.

The benefits to reinstalling Windows fresh are:

• The registry will be clean and unfragmented
• All unnecessary files will be gone
• Boot up will be much quicker

So if you’re not ready to tackle a fresh install of Windows, skip this option and move on to the simpler optimizing options.

I’m not going to go into a step by step tutorial on reinstalling Windows here. If this option doesn’t frighten you, then you probably can handle it. If you have another computer available to you while doing this, just put any problems you come across in Google or Yahoo. That’s what I do when I get into trouble.

Most importantly though, Save everything you can to a disc or a Flash drive before you format the hard drive. Things like your pictures, personal files, email settings and address book, Favorites from your browser, and maybe your entire My Documents folder.

Number 2 - Disc Cleanup
To perform a Disk Cleanup, go to:
Start / All Programs / Accessories / System Tools / Disk Cleanup.
Click OK and wait until it finishes. Just delete the options that are checked by default. Depending on how long it’s been since this has been done, the benefits will vary. If you’ve never done this, then you might see a little speed increase afterwards. Either way, this should be done at least once a month. Weekly would be better.

Number 3 - Disk Defrag
To perform a Disk Defrag, go to:
Start / All Programs / Accessories / System Tools / Disk Defragmenter.
Once again, if you haven’t ever done this, you’ll see an increase from this also, but still only slight. Allow yourself at least an hour to perform this function. If you have a lot of files and software installed, this could take a while.

Number 4 - MSCONFIG
We’re going to use this to speed up your boot up process. Go to:
Start / Run. Type in, msconfig, and click OK. Then click on the Startup tab. You’ll see a list of software and utilities. The ones that are checked, are what has to start up every time you start your computer. This can seriously slow down your boot up process. A lot of times you’ll see things like Microsoft Office, MSN Messenger, and things like this checked. You certainly don’t need those starting up each time you turn on your computer. Uncheck them. As a rule of thumb, if you don’t know for sure, leave it checked! Usually the first 6 or so boxes are necessary for start up.

Hit Apply and then close. It’s going to want to restart the computer. Save everything and let it restart. When it restarts, you’ll get a big scary message with a warning. Don’t worry about it. Check the Box “Don’t show me this again” and click OK.

Number 5 - Registry Cleaner
The registry includes the data regarding the hardware and the software of the system. The system’s registry keeps growing as programs are added and deleted. As the registry keeps growing it collects unnecessary information and data. This clutters and fragments the registry over time. This can also degrade the performance of the PC and is one of the major contributers to a system crash.

Basically, a Registry Cleaner will scan the system registry and locate the obsolete information that is clogging and slowing down the system. This information can include broken links and redundant programs that serve no purpose to the system at all.

Most Registry cleaners come with a backup function. Don’t skip this step. The registry is the backbone of your computer, you don’t want to take any chances. Otherwise, you’ll be going back to step Number 1.

You can do a search on registry cleaners so that you can do your own research and find the one that sounds best for you, but I’ll give you my recommendation of a freebie that works great. It was recently recommended by PC World magazine. Eusing Software Registry Cleaner 1.8.

Number 6 - Add More Memory
This is my favorite. When I get an older computer that someone has asked me to bring back to life again, I alway max out the memory. Let me say it again, Max Out The Memory

By putting maximum memory allowed by the system’s motherboard, you’ll find a significant increase in speed. Especially if you bought your computer with bare minimum memory installed. Which is usually the case!

You’re going to have to find out what your motherboard allows. On the motherboard, you’ll find a series of large numbers and letters printed on the board. Type this into Google or Yahoo, along with “board specs”, and you should be able to find the max allowed memory and most importantly the memory specs. Such as DDR, DDR2, etc.

Double and triple check the spec and buy the most you can afford. Don’t skimp and get cheap memory. You’ll be sorry you did. Sometimes the cheaper stuff is not compatable. It’s always worth the extra few bucks to get the better brands. Such as Kingston, Crucial, Corsair. You can always do without the ice cream and pizza at the grocery store that week!

For the installation of the memory, I’ve found a great tutorials site on that for you at one of my favorite information sites. About.com.

That’s all the tips I have for you for now. I hope this helped encourage you to give it a try, and was clear enough to understand.

Because if you’re like me, you hate sitting and waiting for your computer to do it’s thing!

Related posts:

1. Some Computer Repair Requires “Digging Deep”!
2. Oh No! My Hard Drive Crashed!
3. Ready To Make The Jump To Linux? Let’s Go!